The Washington Post / Marisa Lati
The family of a 26-year-old man who died after being restrained by police is demanding answers in response to body-camera video of officers pinning the man facedown on the ground for five minutes.
The footage released Tuesday shows Mario Arenales Gonzalez becoming unresponsive while officers in Alameda, Calif., restrain him after encountering him with alcohol containers in a park April 19. Police previously said Gonzalez, of Oakland, died after experiencing a medical emergency during a “physical altercation” with officers.
“The police killed my brother in the same manner that they killed George Floyd,” Gerardo Gonzalez told reporters Tuesday.
Mario Gonzalez’s death came a day before a jury convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin of murder in Floyd’s death during an arrest last year. For 9 minutes 29 seconds, Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck and back as Floyd begged for his life.
In Alameda, just east of San Francisco, three officers who were involved in the attempted arrest of Gonzalez have been placed on paid administrative leave while the incident is investigated. City officials identified the officers Wednesday as James Fisher, Cameron Leahy and Eric McKinley.
The county sheriff’s department, the local district attorney’s office and a law firm — Renne Public Law Group — are looking into Gonzalez’s death.
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